Page 187 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

“Oh, that’s what he meant when he said everyone was keeping secrets from him,” she replied.

“Yep.”

“He’s still mad, then?”

“About Evie?”

“About Chris and me.”

“Oh, we didn’t talk about you two very long. Why? Was he mad?”

“He’s summoned us to his office the moment we get home,” she answered, surprising me.

“I’m not sure. I don’t see why he would be, but I’ll try to find out for you.”

“Please. At least, so I know what I should expect,” she replied.

“You got it.”

We watched another two movies, but by then, it was midnight and I could see Vi trying to stay awake, so I let them go to bed. Chris picked her up and carried her upstairs as I put away the rest of our snacks. I could hear her giggling at something Chris said on the way up, and I smiled. It was nice to see her happy again.

After I was done, I walked back to my room and looked at my empty bed. I went to take a long shower, but even then, all I could think about was the time I’d spent in here with Cade. I couldn’t even feel pleasure as the water refreshed my body, so I got out and crawled under the covers.

After an hour of not being able to sleep, I left my room and walked into his. I crawled into his bed, inhaling his scent, and hoping it was still here by the time I left this place.

It was two in the morning before I gave up trying to sleep and pulled out my phone. Cade would be in some hotel right now, resting before the last leg of the trip. I wasn’t sure what I was going to say, but I needed to at least try.

The phone went straight to voicemail when I dialed, and I took a deep breath before I spoke.

“Hi, Cade. I-You probably don’t want to hear from me, but I couldn’t just let things go with the way things ended. I’m sorry. That’s it. No ifs, ands and definitely no buts. I was feeling hurt and overwhelmed with everything that happened that day, and I took it out on the only person that was trying to help me— and love me. There’s no excuse for it. I went through it myself for so long, and I should have known better.”

I took another deep breath.

“The truth is, what I feel for you petrifies me. The idea of going through what I went through before petrifies me. I know you’re not him. Goddess, you’re so much better, and that scares me, too. If the Moon Goddess thought I deserved a man like Brandon, I definitely don’t deserve a man like you.”

I wiped a tear, and said what I should have said before he left.

“I love you... so fucking much. I—honestly, I don’t want to be without you. But, I know I fucked up, probably past the point of forgiveness. If I somehow haven’t. If you think there’s a chance you can forgive me—to salvage things—please, call me. I’m willing to do this on your terms, whatever they are. If you don’t call me... I’ll understand and let you live your life. I’ll try to get better over here, anyway.” I chuckled wryly. “I guess there was one ‘but’ in there for me after all.”

“Luna, where are the tools going?” Hugh asked me a couple of days later.

I rented five different rental trucks to empty out the pack grounds. Some of the equipment was going to an auction house to be sold. Furniture, clothing, and some appliances were going to a few women’s shelters in the state. Some of the tools were going to non-profit technical training programs that were helping homeless and recently released prisoners. Anyone who started over and needed a way to get back on their feet was worthy of help in my book. We only had a week and a half until we needed to get everything out before the new owners demolished the pack house.

In a way, I was happy to see everything crumble to the ground. I was even tempted to stay and watch. Maybe I could try to bribe one of the wrecking ball operators into letting me swing the ball. But, more than needing to see this place burn, I just wanted to be done. The only happy memories from this place were with Adam, Violet, Chris and Cade. Those memories were tinged by sadness now, thanks to me. I just wanted to go home.

“Truck two for the technical trainings,” I answered Hugh.

I had to hand it to him. Even though he was no longer a beta and he would barely be considered a warrior in Crescent Moon, he seemed eager to keep helping. I think he was trying to turn a new leaf and start fresh. A clean slate. I didn’t fault him for that. We could all use a clean slate.

“Hey, Chris,” I asked, as I walked into one of the bedrooms Violet, Chris and Adam were going through, a few minutes later.

“What’s up?” he answered, making me smile at his casual response.

It took him a bit, but after he got back together with Violet, he started making an effort to relax a bit more around me. I think he realized having Violet in his life meant my family was alsobecoming a permanent part of his, and he needed to get used to it.

“Can you take Adam to get a snack? I’ll finish going through this one with Violet for the next ten minutes.”

“Sure thing. Come on, Adam. I saw some brownies hidden behind the flour yesterday. We’ll go raid it before they can take it from us.”

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